When I was young, I slept under dozens of small glow-in-the-dark star stickers. I loved staring up at my faux-night sky and dreaming of all the far away places I would visit and all the zany adventures I would have, as I grew taller and older. It goes without saying then that I was in heaven as my little gal gleefully expressed her desire to affix illuminating stars above her bed. She received a solar system mobile for her 3rd birthday and once her new big girl room was complete, she helped build it and hung it up in the corner.
In that package were twenty two-inch star stickers that she placed on the ceiling (with me holding her up high). These stickers proved fairly lame. They fade in minutes, despite us leaving her room bright for an hour or two before bedtime (and wasting energy).
Our answer to this fading star problem came in the form of The Twilight Turtle. This product is, simply put, perfect! Made by Cloud b, The Twilight Turtle shines the Milky Way galaxy on to the ceiling through dozens of intricately cut stars on the hand painted shell of a beautiful turtle. I place him on top of the oscillating tower fan in her room and the sky is in motion for thirty minutes at a time (normally plenty of time for her to fall asleep) in brilliant green, blue or amber (the last color is way too light – my only complaint). We have used the turtle every night for over a month and have not yet had to change the batteries – strong battery life, another big plus!
She really loves the planets and the moons. She will ask to talk about them at dinner, ask to stay up later (now that it is summer) to see the moon shining down in our backyard. It is really adorable to see a small child so interesting in science. I realized that I needed to find glow-in-the-dark planets next! Luckily, we live near a few independent toy stores, one of which (an amazing place called PUNS on Philadelphia’s Main Line) was able to procure the prize and now my darling toddler sleeps under the night sky complete with all 8 planets and 1 small dwarf (Pluto).
If you have the desire to introduce your child to science, astronomy or just a love of the starry sky consider buying The Twilight Turtle + Lullaby CD from Amazon.com or pick up some simple glow in the dark star and/or planet stickers!
Backyard Astronomy